The Cottage on the Hill

This past weekend the entire family, plus a friend from church headed out for a mini-vaca. We stayed for two nights in a two bedroom suite with full kitchen in a favorite hotel. When we arrived home, I found that I missed that hotel suite. It was very relaxing there! I even told my mother on the phone that I wanted to go back to it! Why? I decided that it was the lack of clutter and only having what we needed with us. I didn't have extra gadgets, appliances, clothes, toys, etc etc etc. Sure, we were on vacation, so that is different from every day life, but it really made me think about all the stuff we have. Do we really need it? Really? It felt really good to be able to sit down and put my feet up because I didn't have a mess to clean up, something to organize, or stuff to put away! The dishwasher, extra bathroom, and maid service helped, too. ;b

My denomination in general does not observe Lent. Every year, though, Lent feels like something I should make a point of. This year, things are a bit discombobulated, so I'm settling for using the Lenten season to purge my home of excess STUFF. This past weekend, I went through my dressers and closet to purge and organize. I already feel better! I plan on repeating the purge with my children's clothing and toys, my kitchen cupboards, paperwork, catalogs and magazines, and excess baby gear. If I have time, I will tackle my sewing supplies.

Itchy belly, Braxton-Hicks contractions, navel pain....yep, baby and belly are going through a growth spurt! Only 16 (technically) weeks left to go! I can hardly believe it! I also found out today that my doctor has listed me as a high risk pregnancy. Now, I'm not sure what that means, as I don't really consider myself high risk. Someone stuck on bed rest with imminent preterm labor is high risk. Apparently, a placenta in a low location, 3 previous miscarriages, 3 previous preterm births, and some pretty nasty BH contractions qualifies me. I'm fairly confident things are ok and are going to be ok.

Upon the request of my lovely aunt, I started a blog for healthy living. If you are interested, check it out HERE .

My outdoor wood boiler after I filled it this morning before the sun rose.

Every Wednesday night when I can I set aside time to sit down, put my feet up, fire up my laptop and head on over to the Raising Homemakers Link Up . To me, it's like the best weekly women's magazine out there!

Wednesday, my children and I came down with a nasty 24 hour stomach bug. As soon as we recovered, I set to cleaning and disinfecting the house before hubby came home. He walked in the door Friday evening and wrinkled his face. He said that he could tell we've been sick. The house smells of sick. Now it is Sunday evening and hubby caught this illness. Once again, the house stinks of sick. If it wasn't 10 degrees outside, I'd sleep outside it's so stinky, or at least open the windows! How do you minimize or eliminate sick-smell odors in your house without resorting to dangerous chemicals and air fresheners. As a side note, don't even mention Febreeze to me. It gives hubby and I pounding headaches.

All 3 of my kiddos wear some form of diapering at night. My 5 year old still has accidents. He is the heaviest sleeper I know!! Thankfully, he's starting to grow out of it, so I've replaced his disposable pull ups with Antsy Pants. The Antsy Pants didn't work before. Even with the nighttime doubler for heavy wetters, he'd soak right through it all. He also complained that they hurt him. Now that he's older and wakes upon wetting them, it's not so bad, other than being summoned from bed and having to help him change. My 3 year old still wets at night, too. She's also a heavy wetter and I have yet to find a cloth solution for her, so she's in disposable pull ups. My 1 year old is also in disposable diapers at night. He, too is a heavy wetter, and sometimes soaks through his sposies. I have two problems with cloth diapering at night: 1. Not enough absorption for my heavy wetters. 2. They sleep for 12 hours. That's a long time to have urine-so...

One thing I'm finding with homeschooling my children is that it is so refreshingly stimulating! I love putting my mind to work organizing their lessons and planning their curriculum. I love coming up with creative projects to do. I love taking time to research their questions. Being so stimulated has also shown me just how mindless life can be for many. Mindless TV. Mindless Internet. Mindless Video Games. Mindless Movies. Mindless Magazines. Sure, we all need a little break from stimuli with a bit of mindlessness now and again, but mindlessness seems to have become the norm. Mindless day in and day out droning away. Where's the pursuit of a new hobby? Where's the pursuit of learning something new? That's what I love about homeschooling. It opens those doors, not only for my children, but myself!

Thanks to THIS RECIPE from Bulk Herb Store, I started making my own herbal smoothies at breakfast time. I am following the herbal blend portion, but not necessarily the smoothie portion of the recipe. Instead this is what I'm doing: banana frozen fruit homemade yogurt raw milk organic unrefined coconut oil acerola powder herbal blend Whirr away and enjoy! Yum yum yum! And filling! The herbs in this smoothie are all considered safe to consume during pregnancy, though if you're concerned, please contact your appropriate health care provider. The herbs are considered a great alternative to consuming synthetic vitamins. The neat thing, too, is that I didn't have my major afternoon crash like I usually do! That's a HUGE plus for me!

I have to be honest with you. If you want to eat better and you have a limited grocery budget, not only do you have to simplify, but you have to work harder. Yep. Make your own. Hate the idea? Well, if you want to eat better, then get over it. Life takes work and getting where you want takes work. Convenience costs one way or another. Hard work pays one way or another. It's daunting at first, I know. But once you get into the swing of things, it isn't so bad. It's ok to pick and choose, too. It may behoove you to make your own yogurt, but making your own bread is just too much. Just figure out what works for you and go with it, so long as you are actually saving money. Another thing to consider when making your own is the total cost of the end result. Remember, when comparing how much it costs to make your homemade bread that you don't compare it to Wonder Bread, but rather the finer, natural loaves. Sure, it may cost you more than a loaf of cheap Aldi...

If anything, I am more than halfway through since I tend to birth early. (Every time I say that, I have this superstitious feeling that this one will be late!) In fact, I get so busy with everything else that I have to remember to stop and rub the belly! Thankfully, baby boy is pretty active and likes to kick little reminders into my lower abdomen as if to say, "hey, mom, I know I have siblings out there taking up most of your attention, but don't forget about me in here!"

Is there a burner on your stove that rarely gets used? Why? For me, it is the front right hand burner. The front left gets used the most because it is the only big burner on my little stove. The back two get used for safety reasons with curious little fingers. Thus, the front right hand burner is often on the "back burner."

Life should have a soundtrack, I think. I can't tell you how many times I've walked somewhere, or driven somewhere and thought about the music that should be playing in the background. When I was in Scotland, I remember hearing distant bagpipes as I viewed the beautiful, natural surroundings. When I head up to the Adirondacks, I often hear the theme song to the movie "Last of the Mohicans" in my head. Lately, we've been listening to instrumental hymns and celtic tunes. What is your soundtrack today?

I've mentioned before that my daughter is a VERY picky eater. She refuses fruits and vegetables 99% of the time to the point of rather going hungry than being subjected to eat them. It boggles my mind because when she was an older infant, she ate it all! I have a chart made for her hanging in the kitchen where she gets a sticker every time she eats something listed on it. It's a slow process. I also sneak fruits and veg in where I can, though she can usually tell. On top of it, I limit her intake of junk foods since she isn't getting the good foods. I'm trying to get her to ingest more vitamin-rich plant-based foods. She also needs to drink more water. She prefers milk and will refuse water. She'll drink juice, but commercial juices aren't exactly healthful. (I'm looking into a juicer.) My next idea is herbal teas. Of course, I'll make sure she only drinks teas that are suitable for children. She has recently become fond of tea parties, and...

www.ansonmills.com Lately, I've really been enjoying adding cornmeal to my sneak-attack quickbreads*. I love the texture and the reduction in the use of gluten since I seem to be gluten sensitive this pregnancy. It also adds a sweetness to the bread. *My sneak-attack quickbreads are made from leftover fruits and veggies I have laying around my house. For example, my latest one was made from banana slices not eaten at breakfast and pears that were past their prime. I made a carrot orange quickbread before that from leftover carrots and greenbeans and an orange that was getting too juicy on the inside. I've also made spinach bread, zucchini bread, apple, mixed vegetables.....any combination thereof. I use as little sweetening as possible. Bananas are usually add to the mix to add sweetness. Raisins help. I like to use maple syrup and/or molasses (depending on the bread), but if it needs it, I'll add a little Florida Crystals sugar. I follow no recipe. The result i...

I am desiring more and more for my family to eat as healthfully as possible, especially since 2 out of 3 of my children are very picky eaters. Unfortunately, our grocery bill is through the roof and I STILL pass up important organic foods because of the expense. So, I am starting this series, Budging the Organic Budget, as a sort of brain storm of ways to keep the grocery budget down and healthful foods up. Part 1 Eat more simply. Variety is the spice of life, but now that I am a busy mom of 3 going on 4, variety can be an added burden. I used to love making all those ethnic, different and gourmet dishes. Planning all those different meals is time consuming and expensive, not to mention all the leftovers that go bad in the back of the fridge because heaven forbid you eat chicken twice a week. With 2 picky children, making dinners such as casseroles, or gourmet flavorings means a lot of waste. They don't eat it. So, I am taking inventory of simple, healthful meals my children...

Thank God for nesting instincts! I'm getting so much done!

I prefer washing dishes when I have something on my mind because it makes the chore go by quickly and I don't realize how gross it is! :)

You know, it's bad enough they jacked the price of cans of tuna and lowered the contents from 6 oz to 5 oz, but then they went cheap on the cans! So now when you press down on the lid to drain the water, the lid bends and tuna goes squirting everywhere!